Jam of the week: Tenderoni

The Black List Volume 1- Serena Williams

Snacks- Mark Ronson knows dope collabos...

YOU should know- Kevin Coval

Kevin Coval is a real soul broth(a). Yeah, with the 'A' at the end. A real life Clark Kent parading around in a "regular guy" costume, all the while being a bad mutha-shut-yo-mouth. He's a poet, a spoken word artist and a youth advocate who's helped to facilitate some of the most exciting youth outreach Chicago could and should hope for. And more, much more. Often I meet people who inspire me and whatever words that I can muster up about them, second hand, fall short of how dynamic they really are. This is one of those moments. This is why I love Chicago. She pretends not to notice you and when you least expect it, throws you a wink.  

Kevin's work is a good meal too rich to eat quickly. And when he means to make you laugh you cant help but pucker afterwards. He's telling the truth and that tends to leave a bitter aftertaste. I want people everywhere to start living like this. Speaking and writing and telling and sharing and living the truth. In this moment in our history, when we are all so depraved and deprived, these are the rock-stars of our time. 

More on the Artist

Kevin Coval is the author of everyday people (EM Press, Nov.'08) and slingshots(a hip-hop poetica) (EM Press, Nov. '05), named Book of the Year-finalist by The American Library Association. Coval's poems have appeared in The Spoken Word Revolution and The Spoken Word Revolution: Redux (Source Books),Total Chaos (Basic Civitas), I Speak of the City: New York City Poems (Columbia University Press), The Bandana Republic (Soft Skull Press), Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reporter, Cross Currents, Crab Orchard Review, Rattle, 2nd Ave Poetry, The Drunken Boat, and many other periodicals and journals. Coval writes for The Huffington Post and can be heard regularly on National Public Radio in Chicago. 

Coval has performed on four continents in seven countries including; The Parliament of the World's Religions in Capetown, South Africa, The African Hip-Hop Festival: Battle Cry, Poetry Society of London, University of the West Indies in Jamaica, St. Xavier's College in Bombay, India, and four seasons of Russell Simmons' HBO Def Poetry Jam, for which he also served as artistic consultant. From Jan. 2006 to May 2007, Coval visited 26 states and more than 50 cities during the promotional tour for his first book, performing at over 150 high schools, universities, book stores, theaters, community centers and Union Halls around the country. 

Co-founder of Louder Than A Bomb: The Chicago Teen Poetry Festival, the largest youth poetry festival in the world, Coval is poet-in-residence at The Jane Addams’ Hull House Museum at The University of Illinois-Chicago and poet-in-residence at The University of Chicago’s Newberger Hillel Center, and teaches at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago.

to learn more about the artist go to:http://www.kevincoval.com/index.html

to support this artist visit: http://www.kevincoval.com/downloads.html

YOU Should Know* Georgia Anne Muldrow

Georgia Anne Muldrow

If you think you don't know her... you're wrong. If you keep artists like Erykah Badu and Mos Def on steady rotation, you've probably already heard her in her collaborations with them. Both on thier more recent albums. From the moment I heard Georgia's voice, I wanted to hear all of her work. 

Her highly acrobatic chords and unresolved harmonic tendencies, leave you feeling alert in the way that only something unique can. It doesn't hurt that she also happens to be a highly competent musician and songwriter. I hate to make comparisons with someone who feels so original, but she's something like Chaka Khan during the Rufus years meets Dead Prez type consciousness, rolled in with some serious explorations of minor key sonics.  Everything about her approach to the music makes you listen closely. Its a good thing she's really got some science to drop! 

More on the Artist

Georgia Anne Muldrow is an American singer and musician signed to Stones Throw Records. She is the first female artist signed to the label and seems to be a close friend of fellow label artist Dudley Perkins. Her father is the late jazz guitarist Ronald Muldrow and her mother is Rickie Byars-Beckwith (www.rickiebyars.com/bio.html) Musical director of Agape Spiritual Center in Culver City, CA and Stepfather is Rev. Michael Beckwith who is best known for being a teacher in the Movie and book "The Secret" . Her early work involved collaborations with the Platinum Pied Pipers, Sa-Ra, and J*DaVeY. She is known for playing the majority of instruments featured on her recordings. Her vocal style and musical accompaniment often are free-form in nature. Most recently she produced and is featured with Dudley Perkins on an album for Mello Music Group titled SomeOthaShip: Connect Game.


to support this artist go to: http://www.stonesthrow.com/georgia

Write Bloody- American Books with guts!

All shenanigans aside this is some serious DIY at work... 

This bad-ass collective was offered a deal with a great distribution company earlier this year that would help get there books into more bookstores and libraries. In order to follow through they needed to raise the money needed to print their books upfront. They met their funding goal in August of this year (I know I'm late with this*). 

The money raised is being used to print their current catalog which includes award winning authors such as Jeanann Verlee, Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz, Taylor Mali, Anis Mojgani, Andrea Gibson, Karen Finneyfrock, and more. In addition the money will also go towards printing Write Bloody's upcoming books by Ben Clark, Beau Sia, Idris Goodwin, C.R Avery, Laura Yes Yes, Paul Suntup, Tara Hardy, and more.

NOW your part in this begins. YOU buy their amazing books by ridiculously talented artists and help them continue the rock-n-roll poetry revolution! 

More About the Artist

Write Bloody Publishing is a unique independent press with a focus on poetry and fiction. They also push the new Write Fuzzy brand for unique and weird children’s books. Thier design team has been pulled from all over America.  Their unique style comes from utilizing modern painters, photographers and rock album designers for all their book cover art. They publish and promote 6-12 tour savvy authors per year. They are also grass roots, DIY, boot strap believers. 

to support WRITE BLOODY go to: http://www.writebloody.com/store/

Jam of the week- J*Davey

The Black List, Vol. 1: Suzan-Lori Parks

The Black List, Vol. 1: Suzan-Lori Parks (HBO)

Snacks- SHFT update

Plastic Bag Ban

Passed in L.A. County

When the effort to ban plastic bags across California failed this past August, we were bummed. But we also knew that it would open the door for local governments to do what the state legislature could not. Lo and behold, it was announced today that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has stepped up and passed a ban on plastic bags in grocery and convenience stores.

Since the ban only covers unincorporated areas of L.A. County, it's not a perfect solution. Cities like L.A. would still have to enact their own bans to help end the plastic plague. But it affects about 1.1 million people, so it's a significant win. Also, other cities that are incorporated in the county will have the option to also adopt the plastic bag ban or not.

Under the new law, "No store shall provide to any customer a plastic carryout bag," although exceptions can be made for plastic bags that hold fruit, vegetables, or raw meat in order to prevent contamination. Establishments will have the option to sell paper bags, which they will be required to sell for 10 cents each.

To us SHFTers, this is big news, not only because it takes an important step in addressing the prickly problem of plastic pollution, but also because it shows how lower levels of government can take action on the environment when the governments above them fail. Ahem, state legislators, let's move forward on climate change.

yes...i guess, dr. martens